Catch
by iamruthesque
Summary: A Moment Between Akane and Ranma


Disclaimer: Everyone knows that I don't own Ranma ½ or any of the characters or anything pertaining to.The only thing I will own up to is that this story was written by me =) Otherwise, with said notice, please don't sue me.I don't have the money to spare.

"Catch"

Princess Faux

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Ranma and Akane:

It was too obvious, at least to him.He knew she was jealous, but what could he do about it?

There they were, walking down the lane on a sunny afternoon; huge cherry trees loomed over their heads; the sakura petals on the trees were a soft pink color that brought out the highlights of sweet spring.Sunlight glittered through the small openings between the petals as they walked pass below.She was looking away, at the other side of the road where small children chattered and laughed as they raced around the rather large park.Parents stood around, either conversing with one another, or watching their children play.There were others in the park, couples strolling aimlessly around, just content to be in the other's company.He watched her from the side, his arms over his head, acting as if he was strolling along casually, and not really staring at her.But he watched her as she let out an absentminded sigh.It was almost wistful as she clasped her hands together in front of her.

As they continued to walk down the paved street, he watched as the sunlight glittered through the trees, falling on her and highlighting some of her best features as she strolled along casually.Still, for the past twenty minutes, they had said nothing.There was nothing to say.They were supposed to be out enjoying the afternoon together, but it didn't seem to him as if she was enjoying it very much.She had said nothing to him at all. Perhaps she was mad again.He shrugged carelessly and looked at the cherry blossoms up above his head instead, trying to avert his glance away from her.

The birds chirped cheerfully overhead; some were in the trees, leaping from branch to branch, while others were in the sky, enjoying the afternoon.Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the slightest movement from her, as she tilted her head back to look up at the sky too.He tried to keep his head up, and away from her, but he found himself watching her as she smiled softly as birds came down from the tree and flitted across the sky, just a couple of feet above her head.He noted the way her smile found a way on her face at the smallest of simple pleasures such as this.When she smiled, he saw how her eyes glittered like the sunlight that shone through the trees.Her usually dark black hair seemed to glow in the soft sunlight, making her hair seem lighter than it actually was.Slowly, she bit her lip and continued to walk forward, now clasping her hands behind her back.

She was in a cute outfit, a dark-blue short skirt with a baby-blue tank top, and tennis shoes completing the outfit.Using another shirt as a jacket, she wore a white button-up blouse that she took the ends and tied them up.The outfit was so simple, so how come it fit her so well?He smiled wryly, knowing that she looked best in blue.Soft colors brought out her eyes.He blinked a couple of times when he realized what he was thinking, and almost groaned out loud, but he caught himself before he really did get her mad.Looking away, he wondered why he was acting like this, he had been with Akane many times before; this wasn't their first time alone.But maybe this time was different...

Then while he wasn't paying attention, a bike crashed straight into him, pummeling him in the head.If he was just a normal person, he would probably be knocked out unconscious.But he was... Ranma.He was definitely not an ordinary guy, human yes, but not the average human.For all the years that he had been a martial artist, why had he been caught off guard now?By the petite purpled hair Chinese girl no less?Ranma sighed as he started to pick himself off the floor, dusting off his clothes on the way up.

"Are you okay, Ranma?" Akane asked worriedly, her eyes shining with concern for him.Although he was grateful that someone cared, she didn't need to be worried for him.After all... he was Ranma. 

"Yea," he replied gruffly."I'm alright."

"Nihao Ranma!" his 'attacker' called out cheerfully, as if nothing had happened.

Ranma sighed again."Shampoo, could you watch where you land?" he asked, not too politely.Everything was going good, nothing bad happened… so it was good, right?Until now.Until Shampoo decided to glomp him in her usual fashion, pinning herself to his body and her lips pressed tightly against his."Shampoo!" he cried, pushing her away, or at least trying to.The girl was persistent--and strong too.Her tenacity wasn't something he enjoyed though.Especially now since Akane was blazing off on the side, her aura flaring a bright red with anger.He wondered briefly about how threatening and how powerful that she looked just then.But if that anger was targeted on him…

Ranma swallowed and tried to pry the purple-haired girl from his body."Shampoo!Will you let go?"His voice tensed up and he was getting frustrated inside.With all the training that he had finished, how could he not get one girl off of him?Shampoo didn't seem to get the point of all his attempts to get her off.

"Me lover miss?" she asked innocently as she continued to hold on to him, as if he was a prized possession.She was in her usually purple outfit that she always wore while working at the Cat Café where her Grandmother had her working.On the bicycle seat, there was a takeout tray order, steam still escaping from the small air opening on the top of the box.She snuggled against his neck, content to be near him.

His patience was wearing thin as he caught some movement from the corner of his eye.Akane was walking on without him!"Akane wait!It's not what it looks like!"He grunted as he finally pried Shampoo off of him."Don't you have a delivery to make?" he asked quickly, pointing to the basket.

"Aiya!" she agreed."Shampoo see you later!"Bouncing off his body, she hopped onto her bike and trailed away.Ranma sighed in relief as Shampoo finally headed off, away from him.The dear girl could be so tenacious at times, cute but… he face-faulted at the thought.Not so cute.She could be such an airhead, bouncing from him to her job all in one thought.How she did that was too much of a burden to think about.

He groaned as he saw Akane turning the corner up ahead."Akane!Wait up!"It was too obvious, at least to him.He knew she was jealous, but what could he do about it?It wasn't that he asked Shampoo to land on his head, causing him to have a major headache.He really didn't want Akane to be mad at him right now, since they were getting along… since they were actually getting along for once."Baka," he muttered, not knowing whether he was talking about her or about himself as he leapt onto the chain fence and started to run along it until he caught up to her.

It didn't take long for him to catch up, but when he did, he had to take long strides just to walk beside her.Quite obviously, she was steamed, walking at the pace that she was."Aw c'mon Akane."

"C'mon what?" she retorted.The girl huffily tilted her head away from him.Every part of her body movement told him that she was angry with him.But what right did she have to be angry?He hadn't asked for any of this to happen.

"Why do I even bother?" he muttered to himself, knowing that she couldn't hear, but partially hoping that she would.Maybe that way, she would yell at him, or scream even, just as long as she was talking to him.She didn't know how much of an effect she had on him.Nor would she know if she wasn't talking to him."Look, are you mad?" he finally asked tentatively.

She snorted and retorted nonchalantly, "Why should I be?"She still wasn't looking at him, and the familiar soft sparkle in her eyes was just not there anymore.If there was any trace left of that familiar sparkle, it was surely replaced by the hard, angry gleam in her eyes, a sight that he was all too familiar with by now.But try as she might to disguise her feelings right then, he knew that the disguise was only skin deep.He knew that feeling all too well as he recollected all the times that he had tried to hide behind his own angry protective mask, just to hide the undeniable feelings that he had towards her from her.

"Good," he answered stiffly, keeping up their little charade.It was all they knew how to do.It was all he knew he would do.He hadn't the guts to step up to her and to tell her his real feelings, the feelings that were hid so well deep inside of him, hidden far past the deepest corners of his mind.But had he the nerve to do so, he knew this was not the time.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she cried angrily, spinning her head around to glare at him through narrow eyes.Her tone was filled with exasperation, as if tired of all these charades that they constantly play.

"I just thought that we could keep on going on our walk," he answered without a moment's thought.As the words came out of his mouth, he felt the rush of blood to his cheeks and quickly turned away from her steady gaze.'_Kuso,' he thought, reprimanding himself for his careless mistake.He was going to get yelled at for that, he mused, quietly sucking in a deep breath of air to cool his cheeks._

Her voice was quiet, soft and unsure--almost unsteady as she answered, "I'd like that."Her answer surprised him, almost causing him to lose his balance from the chain he was walking on so steadily earlier.Catching himself, he made up for his mistake by pretending he was trying to get off the chain in the first place, lightly jumping from the chain to the to sidewalk.He… accidentally, he supposed, or at least he tried to convince himself that it was an accident… misjudged the jump and landed right by her side, much closer than he had intended.

She stood beside him, unmoving, just centimeters away, looking down at the pavement like there was something so fascinating about the little cracks in the sidewalk that she could not avert her eyes from it, even if it was a life or death situation.Her hands were clasped in front of her as she started to fiddle with her left index finger.He stood so close beside her that he could hear her unsteady breathing, the nervousness in every breath that she took.He swallowed, wondering what next?He had never dared to go so far… Slowly, he lifted his hand and touched her shoulder tentatively.She slowly looked up, and in that one instant, she took his breath away.The familiar sparkle in her eyes was back, the anger gone.How her emotions changed so quickly, he never knew, but there was also a light pink hue on her cheeks that seemed to make her shine as radiantly as she did just then.Slowly, he regained his breath and asked quietly, "Is there anywhere you want to go?"

She smiled softly, the first real smile that she had given him, _him, that whole day.Again, she almost took his breath away as she did so.He realized right then and there that it was indeed the little things that mattered, not the major things.Such as how she could take his breath away with just one smile, a look, or even just by being there.There was this unsatiable urge to reach out and touch her, to show her how much she meant to him, but to do so… was just so hard.She didn't know what she meant to him, or how much she meant to him… or even what she could do to him.But to show her… "I wanted to go back to the park.Do you mind?" she asked softly._

He shook his head slowly, and turned around in the opposite direction.She followed suit and they began to walk back on the road that they had just been.This time, he didn't try to keep his distance.He kept the same distance that he had just moments before when he had landed so close to her.He hoped she didn't mind.

They walked together in silence as they started to watch the sun slowly make its way towards the horizon.The sky lit up with the various colors of the rainbow, bright reddish-orange colors closest to the sun, while they sky farthest from the setting sun ranged from all sorts of dark black colors to the lightest blue.Big fluffy white clouds continued to move lazily across the sky, and the wind started to pick up, gently swaying the cherry blossom branches.In the sky, the birds stopped their cheerful songs to get ready for the night, and there were children crossing the street to get home before dark as commanded by their parents.Still, with all of this happening around them, they walked in silence.

When they had reached their destination, he saw that there was barely anyone else in the park.They had already started home, leaving the beautiful park deserted in the cool afternoon sun.He hadn't realized how late it was getting.He watched as she briefly looked both ways and then started to cross the street.He hurried to keep by her, never leaving her side.

They crossed the street and immediately, Akane led the way towards the banks of the lake.He smirked, as he knew she had a small fetish for feeding the birds that came by her.She started to walk a little faster, eager to be near the animals that had started to come her away.He slowed down a bit, not in a rush to be too close to her, lest he somehow manage to invade her personal space.Instead, he stood back from her a step or two as she hurried ahead to get to the banks.Once there, she pulled out a small bag from her front pocket, a bag filled with cookies.

He couldn't help but smile at this.It was as if she had planned this herself.The deviant.He started forward and stepped behind her, once again, close to her body.He watched over her shoulder as she crumbled up the cookies into small bits and pieces; then she started to toss the crumbs aimlessly in the water as geese and ducks as well as swans, gathered by her, anxious for the late afternoon snack.

Much sooner than she had hoped, the crumbs eventually ran out and she had no more food to offer to her friends.With a sigh she tried to step back, slightly stumbling into him, who was not at all ready for this sudden movement, held on to her by the shoulders and fell back on the soft banks of the lake.The green grass was not wet, but rather comfortingly dry as he landed, still holding on protectively to her.Now they were in an awkward position, as she was sitting in his lap, legs slightly folded up, as his legs were spread out in the fall.She somehow landed right between his legs, one hand holding onto his thigh for supported.Blushing, she released her soft grip on his leg and started to shuffle away.

On impulse, he leaned forward and took hold of her shoulder with his left hand, keeping her in the position she was in now.He didn't mind--it was an accident after all.But with his right hand, he reached forward and brushed away the dark strands of hair that seemed to fall over her eyes when she fell.In the light of the setting sun was probably when she looked her best, he thought momentarily.The sun setting in front of them seemed to highlight her hair, giving her the look of many different shades of brown in her usually dark hair.Her eyes sparkled underneath his touch on her face, sparkling a golden brown color as she took in a breath, held it, and slowly exhaled.

He could feel her soft skin underneath the soft touch of his fingertips.His fingertips barely grazed her face, but he felt the delicacy of her skin even as the fleeting moment passed by.Her face softened at his touch, and surprising him, she reached out with both her hands for his one hand that touched her so softly before.Before he could object, she was holding his one hand in both of her small hands.

They gazed at each other for a while, staring into the depths of the other's eyes, seemingly trying to search into the other's soul.Finally, she broke the gaze when she lifted his hand to her face, and she closed her eyes, savoring the feel of his hand against her face.She slowly turned in his lap to face him when he reached forward with his other hand, hesitatingly, but not so afraid anymore.He swallowed lightly as he reached out for her face with his left hand, now cupping her face in his hands.Slowly, he let his hands wander to her hair, burying his fingers in the depths of the soft, silky feel of her hair.

His eyesight hazed over as his eyelids drooped comfortingly, automatically as he leaned forward towards her face, and as he lifted her face to met his own."If only you knew how much you meant to me," he murmured against her soft lips, hoping she understood.The desire to hold her was too hard to restraint himself from and he gave into the fleeting moment of desire, of losing himself in this one kiss…

"Ranma?" her voice called out to him, tentatively, unsure of where he was exactly.His body was here, but it was like his mind was not.

He blinked a couple of times, absentmindedly.Sighing disappointedly, he snapped out of his nice reverie."Mmm?" he murmured out loud, assuring her that he was listening.

She giggled softly."It looked like you were a million miles away," she commented lightly, crawling away from his lap.She took a seat right beside him, seemingly not afraid of joining the distance.They both had enough room to lean back casually on their arms as they watched the sunset in front of them.

He shook his head slowly, his eyes still a little hazy from his almost reality."No," he said quietly."I'm right here… right here with you."

She looked at him, her expression was a combination of bewilderment, surprise, wonder and… something that he couldn't put his finger on.Was it… pleasure?He took the moment to look back at her wondering eyes, trying to look into the depths of her soul just like he so terribly wanted to do.After a brief moment, she looked away, staring at the beautiful scenery in front of her.Slightly disappointed, he turned away from gazing at her beautiful profile.They sat there as the sun slowly sank beneath the horizon, already halfway below.The touch was almost too gentle, a fleeting, momentary experience, but he felt the touch before he even saw it.Her fingertips on her right hands so-very-gently brushed against his index finger casually, catching his attention.He held his breath as he looked up at her.

She wasn't looking at him, but her lips moved slightly, telling him, "Thank you… for always catching me when I fall."He smiled as he reached out with his left hand to gently hold on to her right hand.

He smiled to himself as she didn't try to resist.The birds that she had been feeding earlier started to leave for their homes, quietly starting their way across the serene lake.'If only you knew how much you meant to me,' he thought again.'Then maybe… Maybe one day.'He heard her sharp intake of air as they watched two swans take to the air, encircling each other with love in the midst of the beautiful sunset, making their private afternoon seem more spectacular than what it had originally started out as.He heard the pleasure in her breathing as she took in deep steady breaths.He imagined the beautiful way her eyes lit up with pleasure in the back of his mind as he watched.And he felt his own pleasure soar deep in his heart as she entwined their fingers together, and gently squeezed his hand.'I'll always catch you when you fall,' he assured her quietly.'If only you knew.'

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Note: Dedicated to my *~ahem~* Soulmate, Anne.October 2000


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